India should consider temporary shutdown to handle its Covid crisis, Fauci says

Eight people, including one doctor, died at a hospital in the Indian capital of New Delhi on Saturday afternoon after the facility ran out of medical oxygen. 

Speaking to CNN, Dr. SCL Gupta, the medical director of Batra Hospital, said staff had been messaging government authorities, warning them the hospital only had four to five hours of oxygen left.

At around 1:30 p.m. local time, with minutes left, they were running on oxygen brought in by the families of patients while emergency reserves were used for ICU patients.

Out of a total of 326 patients, 300 are hospitalized with Covid-19. More than 200 require oxygen support, Gupta added.

According to CNN affiliate News 18, the hospital received emergency oxygen supply from the Delhi government after facing a similar situation a week ago.

Gupta, who has been a doctor for 45 years, told CNN he had “never seen anything like this.”

“Patients are dying in front of us,” he said.

Delhi hospitals have been facing a severe oxygen shortage as the number of Covid-19 cases continue to rise.

A total of 27,047 cases were recorded along with 375 deaths, according to a bulletin issued by the local health department on Friday evening.

Delhi has reported more than 20,000 cases every day for the past nine days. The total number of cases stands at 1,149,333, including 16,147 deaths.